CytotoXic activity of the Nepeta mahanesis essential oil on normal and cancer cell lines

Conventional treatment for cancer includes chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery often affect the patient’s quality of life due to their serious side effects. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop less toxic and more effective therapy and plants are a promising source for such entities. Until to date, many published articles have reported the anticancer activity of EOs and some of their isolated components against various types of cancers. Nepeta mahanesis is one of the Iranian endemic species belong to the subfamily Nepetoideae and the family Lamiaceae. The purpose of this study was to evaluate cytotoxic activity of N. mahanesis EO on breast cancer (MCF-۷) and normal foreskin fibroblasts (YhFF) cells. MTT assay were used for evaluation of plant EO cytotoxicity. MTT assay showed the same cytotoxicity of N. mahanesis EO against cancer (IC۵۰ of ۰.۰۸%) and normal cell line (IC۵۰ of ۰.۰۷%). Therefore, N. mahanesis EO do not have specific anticancer activity against cancer cell line.

Keywords:

Nepeta. mahanesis , Essential oil , Anti-cancer , Cytotoxicity